Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board officially acquires land for new regional park at Upper Harbor site

Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board officially acquires land for new regional park at Upper Harbor site

The City of Minneapolis transferred the land to the MPRB on Nov. 22, 2023, following years of planning in partnership with the City

The Minneapolis Park and Recreation Board (MPRB) is pleased to announce it has officially acquired the land for a new regional park at the Upper Harbor redevelopment site!

The City of Minneapolis transferred the land to the MPRB on Nov. 22, 2023, following years of planning in partnership with the City to redevelop the 53-acre former barge shipping terminal on the North Minneapolis riverfront.

Much of the new regional park will be linear. It features approximately one mile of parkway road with parking, separated bike and pedestrian trails, and native trees, grasses, woody shrubs and perennials planted across the park and new naturalized shoreline.

A five-acre core park space will connect Dowling Avenue to the riverfront. This central open plaza and lawn area is designed as a flexible space for events and activities. The image below shows the core park space connected to the linear park space to the north and south.

The park will also include large-scale stormwater treatment and riverbank restoration with a river overlook. Much of that work is being done in partnership with the Mississippi Watershed Management Organization. Check out the MWMO Upper Harbor page for more details on that.

Park Construction

Over the past two years, construction work focused on preparing the site for the future park with demolition, grading and utility work. Park construction will begin in Spring 2024 and the park is expected to open in 2025. City of Minneapolis Public Works is currently constructing the parkway road and expects to complete that in 2024.

The new regional park will add 20 acres of publicly accessible riverfront parkland to the Minneapolis park system on the Northside, a significant milestone in the MPRB’s mission to increase parkland and river access in North and Northeast Minneapolis.